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[-] SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de 173 points 1 week ago

In case people are wondering: it's indeed a german joke.

It's a pun. "meet" and "hit" are using the same word in german

[-] GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml 61 points 6 days ago

Come to think of it, that's a thing in Swedish as well - we could make the pun work there as well:

Två jägare träffades. Båda dog.

[-] SmackemWittadic@lemmy.world 52 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Båda dog! Båda dog! No Treåt

(I know å is pronounced like "eu" like in Blåhaj. Couldn't help myself tho)

[-] GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml 26 points 6 days ago

For it to match Swedish phonetic rules, it would have to be:

Bäd dågg! Bäd dågg! Nåu trit!

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[-] roguetrick@lemmy.world 34 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

That joke used to work in English.

By c. 1300, of things, "to come into physical contact with, join by touching or uniting with;" also, of persons, "come together by approaching from the opposite direction; come into collision with, combat."

https://www.etymonline.com/word/meet

It still can mean collision or fight, but the context needs to be very clear. Two armies meeting on the battlefield, for example. Or two hunters met in combat.

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[-] Karjalan@lemmy.world 24 points 6 days ago

That's why translation can be so hard, especially for poems, songs, comedy etc. Double meanings, metaphors, rhymes etc are often lost when translated.

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[-] fushuan@lemm.ee 15 points 6 days ago

So it's a misstranslated joke then. With that information it's kinda funny or at least it makes sense.

[-] rhombus@sh.itjust.works 25 points 6 days ago

More like untranslatable, as the context just doesn’t work in English. You either have something that doesn’t make sense or - if you use the other meaning - a statement with no humor. The pun is completely dependent on the German phrasing.

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[-] cows_are_underrated@feddit.org 63 points 6 days ago

I gonna explain the the joke in the picture.

The German joke is "Treffen sich zwei Jäger, beide Tot."

THW important word is "treffen". It can mean "meet" and "hit"(with a weapon). depending on the context

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[-] rickyrigatoni@lemm.ee 54 points 6 days ago

Two Bulgarians are driving through the countryside when they are pulled over by an officer. "Sorry to bother you", says the officer, "but I'm looking for two child molesters."

The Bulgarians look at each other for a moment, turn to the officer, and with a solemn nod say

"We'll do it."

[-] evidences@lemmy.world 66 points 6 days ago

I used to work with a couple Czech dudes. One day my coworkers and I were badgering the one dude to tell us a Czech joke. He was pretty reluctant because he said he could only really think of one joke but wasn't sure it would translate well. When he finally told us the joke he got us with this masterpiece.

Two balloons are floating along, one says to the other and hey look a cactus.

All of us were confused by this, he told us it was much funnier in Czech because balloon and cactus sound similar so it's a pun. So we had him tell us the joke untranslated in Czech and balloon and cactus sound nothing alike.

I'm still not sure if this dude was fucking with us.

[-] angrystego@lemmy.world 37 points 6 days ago

It's a silly joke for little kids of preschool age and it only makes sense if you include the right sound effects. It's supposed to go like this: Two balloons are floating along, one says to the other: - Hey look a cactussssssssssss! - Where isssssssssss it?

[-] angrystego@lemmy.world 40 points 6 days ago

One that works in English:

A superconductor came to a bar and ordered a beer. The barman said - I'm not giving you a beer! Get the fuck out of my bar! The superconductor left without any resistance.

[-] SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de 27 points 6 days ago

An argon atom walks into a bar. The barman says: "We don't serve your kind here. get out". The argon atom doesn't react.

[-] brotundspiele@sh.itjust.works 18 points 6 days ago

A neutron walks into a bar and asks: "How much for a beer?" The barman says: "For you, no charge".

[-] Thelie@sh.itjust.works 16 points 6 days ago

Oh hey the German version of this joke is also one that doesn't translate! "A neutron walks into a bar. The bartender says: Sorry, only invited guests." In German, "geladen" means both "invited" and "charged".

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[-] TriflingToad@sh.itjust.works 19 points 6 days ago

the fact that you don't know if he's fucking around makes it even funnier lmao

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[-] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 80 points 1 week ago

To explain the joke, as is tradition in Germany. "To meet" translates to "treffen" in German. Which can also mean "to hit something or somebody".

Once had a multicultural family gathering where we translated the same joke into several languages.

A man knocks at a door. A woman opens and he says: "Hello, my name is Toulouse. I'm here to fuck your daughter." The woman screams: "To what?!?" He answers calmly: "Toulouse."

[-] 5ibelius9insterberg@feddit.org 63 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

„Hallo, mein~~meine~~ Name ist Umberto und ich bin hier um Ihre Tochter zu ficken“

„UM WAS???“

„Umberto.“

[-] IndiBrony@lemmy.world 18 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

So I've been learning German for a couple of months. Wouldn't it be "mein name?" 🤔 because presumably Umberto is male?

Buy yes, funny joke 😂

[-] Enkrod@feddit.org 28 points 6 days ago

Male or female, it's always "mein" because "Name" is a male noun.

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[-] FiskFisk33@startrek.website 26 points 6 days ago

“To meet” translates to “treffen” in German. Which can also mean “to hit something or somebody”.

Join the shooting club, meet new friends.

Schiessen lernen; Freunde treffen! is a popular slogan with German shooting clubs.

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[-] Etterra@discuss.online 55 points 6 days ago

Oh I can do German-style comedy too, but as an American.

A Democrat and a Republican walk into a bar. They fight and both die in the hospital. Their families have to each pay $80,000 for medical expenses, then both families sue the bar. The bar closes, the owner divorces, spirals into alcoholism, and commits suicide. Then the funeral director buys a new house.

[-] fushuan@lemm.ee 23 points 6 days ago

You said comedy, not children stories!

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[-] 5ibelius9insterberg@feddit.org 55 points 6 days ago

The farmer and the farmhand are out in the field working. Suddenly the sky closes in and it looks like rain. The farmhand says to the farmer: "If we don't hurry now, we'll get soaked here." The farmer says to the farmhand: "Then go into the house and get my wellies!" The farmhand says: "Why me? Why don't you get your wellies yourself?" The farmer looks at the farmhand angrily and asks: "Who’s the farmer? Who’s the Farmhand?"

The farmhand goes into the house in a rage. The farmer's wife and her pretty daughter are sitting at the kitchen table. The farmhand says to the two of them: "The farmer said you two should get naked so I can fuck you." The two women look at each other. The farmer's wife is surprised: "No, I don't believe that. The farmer would never say something like that, would he?" "Yes, he would," says the farmhand. "But I can ask again just in case." He goes to the kitchen window and opens it. The farmer's wife has followed him and is standing next to it. The farmhand shouts out into the field: "Farmer, both of them?" The farmer looks at the window and shouts back: "Both of course, you idiot!"

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[-] ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world 42 points 6 days ago

Translated Hungarian joke:

The Székely and his son go into the forest to cut trees. When cutting a tree, the son says:

"Goodbye, my beloved father."

"Why are you saying a farewell to me?", asks the Székely.

"Because the tree is falling on you."

[-] DankOfAmerica@reddthat.com 27 points 6 days ago

What's the joke? Are there slow falling trees in Hungary?

[-] ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world 16 points 6 days ago

This reply made me laugh more than that joke ever did.

[-] dQw4w9WgXcQ@lemm.ee 29 points 6 days ago

One translated from Norwegian:

"Once upon a time... But now it's a corridor"

I'll supply the original and an explanation:

"Det var en gang... Men nå er det en korridor"

"Det var en gang" is literally "It was a time/an instance", and it's the main way every fairytale starts in Norwegian. But "gang" could also mean hallway.

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[-] datendefekt@feddit.org 44 points 6 days ago

This is a kids pun joke that got lost in translation. Treffen can mean either to meet or to hit (like with a bullet).

Want a funny German joke? Why don't ants go to church? Because they're insects!

[-] idiomaddict@lemmy.world 20 points 6 days ago

As an immigrant in Germany, that’s the reason people think Germans aren’t funny. A lot of the humor is pun-based (and sometimes there are many, many more layers, making them actually very good jokes), which just doesn’t translate well.

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[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 16 points 5 days ago

A dog walks into a bar and says "I can't see a thing. I'll open this one."

Those ancient Sumerians sure knew how to make some knee-slappers.

[-] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 31 points 6 days ago

One of my favorite Filipino jokes:

Why didn't the priest go swimming in the ocean? Because it's salt water.

"Salt water" in Tagalog can be translated as "tubig asin," which sounds like the English "too big a sin." Many Filipino jokes rely on Tagalog and English like that.

Here's another (putting original Tagalog because it's kind of relevant):

May joke ako tungkol sa airport kaso NAIA ako eh hehe.

English:

I have a joke about the airport, but I am NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) hehe.

NAIA sounds like "nahiya," which means "shy," so it would sort of translate to "... but I was shy."

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[-] merc@sh.itjust.works 26 points 6 days ago

An angry Ontarian calls a radio show, and complains about all the Newfies coming to Ontario to take the good jobs. "We aughta build a wall to keep them Newfies out!"

Next call to the radio show is a newfie: "Owshegettinonb’y? Ye by's be havin' any jobs bildin tha' wall or wha'?"

(How are you doing? You guys have any jobs building that wall, or what?)

[-] Kaput@lemmy.world 19 points 6 days ago

Québécois and a French learning Ontarian having a chat. The Ontarians goes - o look a fly, Québécois corrects him- A fly. O - wow you have good eyesight. Wregarde, un mouche- -Non, une mouche

[-] Adm_Drummer@lemmy.world 25 points 6 days ago

For anyone who doesn't get it: The joke relies on understanding how Latin languages gender words (Un v. Une, Masculine/Feminine form).So it literally doesn't work in English. It's also a common translation error non native speakers have because you only know the "gender" of a word by... Knowing if it's masculine or feminine through experience.

Best way to carry the joke is:

"Oh look, a/un(male) fly."

"No, it's a/une(feminine) fly."

"Wow, you have good eyes/Wow, you can see it's genitals from here?"

Certainly clunky but hilarious if you speak French.

[-] HawlSera@lemm.ee 12 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

That's sadly the funniest German joke I've ever heard, I mean the punchline is there, but the set-up isn't, meaning it's closer to what I recognize as a joke than most Germanic Humor.

Edit: Nope, funnier German jokes are in this comment chain, I'm in a good mood today

[-] dcat@lemmy.world 18 points 6 days ago

«done is done said the moose and walked over the river and became a reindeer.»

in norwegian done rhymes with deer, and reindeer rhymes with clean.

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[-] brotundspiele@sh.itjust.works 12 points 6 days ago

It's a bit like the shortest joke: A woman comes at the doctor....

Or in German: Kommt 'ne Frau beim Arzt...

This one works well in German and English, but I assume it's untranslatable in many other languages.

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this post was submitted on 22 Jan 2025
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